September 8, 2005
Graduate College PFF Reception
Prepared by
On September 8th, we attended the annual PFF Opening Fall Reception with PFF members from all departments. It was great to meet some other graduate students outside of the mathematics department. Those of us who attended the reception had great conversation and thoroughly enjoyed the appetizers and desserts! The program and some notes from the reception are below.
1. Welcome and Overview
A welcome speech was given by Maria Allison, Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies.
2. PFF Highlights
The PFF Program Coordinators, Paula Stice and Charlene Roach, spoke of some of the highlights of PFF.
3. The PFF Experience
Two past PFF members spoke of their experiences in the program. Both members had very positive experiences in the program. One past PFF fellow, Matthew Lord has since decided to pursue a career outside of academia, but still speaks highly of the PFF program. He said that by going through the PFF program, he was able to see that a faculty position was not for him. The other PFF fellow, Alma Alvarez-Smith is very thankful for her experiences in PFF and is pursuing a career in academia.
4. The Faculty Emeriti Association Fellowship
Bruce Mason, Professor Emeritus from the School of Music and Sean Nevin, Education & Outreach Coordinator of the Piper Center for Creative Writing spoke of the fellowships that are awarded to PFF fellows annually.
5. The Faculty Emeriti Association Fellowship Recipients
The recipients of last year's fellowships were Cathryn Meegan (Anthropology), Alison Sitek (Bioengineering), and Elvinet Wilson (Communication). They spoke of their research, their experiences in PFF, and the application process for the fellowship. (Only 2 of the 3 attended the reception, and the third had a speech that was read by someone else.)